Rob Ball illustrates a cohort of creatures for the cover of "Questland".

Rob Ball has illustrated the cover for “Questland”, the new novel by Carrie Vaughan and published by HMH Books. The story takes place on an island governed by the rules of fantasy literature, and features on the cover a cohort of creatures expertly illustrated by Rob.

The question that the brief posed was how “niche” the cover should be. Rob provided two iterations of the cover, one aimed at genre fans exclusively and another with a broader appeal. After back and forth between Rob and the publisher, they opted for the “niche” route and chose a 20 – sided die as the main element, as the image represents Dungeons & Dragons and other RPG’s very strongly in the minds of those that play them.

The final illustration is a collage of sorts, using the sides of the 20 – sided die to frame the separate elements.

“The image isn’t a real scene, rather a hit list of moments from the book. And if you want to make sense of it all you’ll have to read it!”